Biotechnology News

POSS key ingredient in synthetic organ work

(Nanowerk News) A key molecule developed at Hybrid Plastics now forms a main component
in an effort to develop synthetic human organs for medical treatment.
Such organs include tear ducts, blood vessels and windpipes. All such
organs use the POSS® molecule, which is created by Hybrid Plastics.

University College London Professor Dr. Alexander Seifalian has proven
successful in using these synthetic parts in a handful of patients.
His method includes forming a mold of the desired organ using the POSS
polymer material developed at Hybrid Plastics. The mold is then
infused with the patient's own stem cells and ready for transplant
into the patient's body. Its potential applications include both ears
and noses. Dr. Seifalian's recent work has been reported both in an
April Associated Press article and The Huffington Post.

"We are thrilled for Dr. Seifalian's success," said Joe Lichtenhan,
president of the Mississippi-based Hybrid Plastics. "His innovative
work gives new hope for patients who currently do not have many
options."

Lichtenhan points to Dr. Seifalian's work as just one of many medical
possibilities for POSS. “We see POSS as adding value in many areas
of medical devices, such as dental adhesives, dental restoratives,
hemostats and wound healing agents,” said Lichtenhan.

In a 2011 book on POSS, entitled "Applications of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes", Dr. Seifalian and coauthors laud the
potential of POSS in the medical arena. “The combination of POS
molecules with polymers holds great promise for the future of
biomedical devices…if successful in the long run, the clinical
implications would be tremendous, as the ability to ‘grow’ tissue
in vitro would potentially replace tissue transfers and even
transplantation.”

For more information on the many uses of POSS, visit hybridplastics.com.

Source: Hybrid Plastics

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